Audience Member
no new tale 2 tell here its hitchcock's 'strangers on a train' with women instead of men switching off murders and poor production quality too.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Four star storyline, but two star soap opera production style.
No stars for ripping off the title of the 1989 <I>Sex Lies and Videotape</I>.
.
<I>Sex Lies And Death</I> has a great plot. It is neither campy, nor over-the-top, yet it may hold special appeal to fans of such films due its distinctly voyeuristic filmmaking style, typical of a risqué, televised Latin serial.
<B>SEX LIES AND DEATH (2011)</B> Spanish; (English Subtitles)
WRITTEN BY: Claude Primont
DIRECTED BY: Ramiro Meneses
FEATURING: Andrea Lopez, Carolina Sepulveda, Alejandra Pinzon, Juan Pablo Shuk, Martha Bolaños, Carlos Serrarto, and Juan Alfonso Baptista
GENRE: <B>THRILLER</B>
TAGS: heavy lesbian themes, but note that <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is not dyke cinema
<B>PLOT: </B> Two executives plot the murder of each other's spouses, but despite their best efforts, the troublesome intricacies of a four woman lesbian love triangle cause the morbid scheme to sensationally spiral out of control.
COMMENTS: When Viviana (Lopez) and Alicia (Bolaños) meet randomly, they discover that they would both enjoy life more if they could relieve their spouses from existing. Viviana's husband (Shuk) is great provider, who likes to beat and rape Viviana, then apologize profusely the following day, shower her with expensive gems, get drunk, and rape her again. Alicia's spouse Lorena (Sepulveda) inherited a fashion design company, but has taken up a torrid affair with her new upstart marketing executive, Mariangela (Pinzon) with whom she plans to replace Alicia as vice president of the company. Together Vivian and Alicia carefully plot to invoke the tried but tempting <I>Strangers On A Train</I> scheme whereby each murders the other's tormentor, while they establish alibis respectively.
Of course everything goes horribly, horribly wrong.
And the situation deteriorates in a credible, interesting way that doesn't insult one's intelligence. After arranging Lorena's murder, Alicia is forced to back out of the arrangement pending new developments, but it is too late. Determined and skillful, Vivianna has already embarked on her endeavor and it is too late to call her back. She undertakes her assignment in a cunning, underhanded way that ensures she will be able to coerce Alicia into fulfilling her end of the bargain.
Loren's nosy, discontented domestic staffer interferes. Meanwhile, intrigue arising from rivalries in the four women's lesbian love triangle complicates matters, just as a shady detective makes the scene at the worst possible time. Deceit, subplots, and surprise alliances plunge Alicia, Vivianna, Loren and Mariangela into a web of <I>sex, lies and death</I>.
What sets <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> apart from many thrillers with tawdry murder plots is that the two vixens conduct themselves cleverly. This is to say that they act, rather merely react to the changing situation, and they do so with poise and intelligence. In so many films I have to quit caring about players who make truly stupid decisions in the face of adversity.
Employing characters who are dolts often signifies weak writing; it indicates that the scribe lacked imagination. <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> compelled my attention because the principles are not stupid. To the contrary, they do a great job of coping with the situation when it turns sour despite their meticulous planning, and this builds quality, rather than cheap suspense.
It must be noted however, the <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is not a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller. Rather, it plods along like an Agatha Christie murder mystery, but there is nothing wasted, and no drawn out or irrelevant love scenes. The film has an unusual feel by US or Northern Europen standards because it is shot like a Brazilian or Mexican soap opera. The production values, editing, sets, image quality etc, are adequate, but the frames and edits are right out of a Latin serial.
<I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is photographed with a distinctly voyeuristic filming style. It is done so in such a way that one holds the expectation that at any moment, the plot will come undone like much of the characters' clothing, in favor of soft-porn fornication scenes (though what is surprising is that it never does).
For instance, everyone seems to be in bed with everyone else. Literally. The phone rings; cut to a shot of a man answering it in bed. Camera pulls back and it's revealed that he's in bed <I>with</I> someone, and it's someone you wouldn't expect. This is a plot point of course, but the bed turns into a consciously sexy plot point.
There are a lot of long closeups to catch ignoble emotions such as jealousy, lust, and seething conceit. Contrast this with quick, subtle closeup shots in a film such as <I>Chinatown</I>, which are calculated to convey what a player is thinking or scheming, in a way that builds character development rather than playing to audience voyeurism. In <I>Sex Lies and Death</I>, there is a bit of a garish quality to the production, such as anticipation shots, featuring close-editing of things like blouses being pulled off before a plunge in the pool, to build misguided interest for what lies beneath.
Really, a serious viewer is more interested in revelations of plot than revelations of tits, and so this sort of cinematic style detracts from the film's credibility. Additionally, dialogue is good, not corny, but it smacks of the sort of cattiness one would expect out of the mouths of Luke and Laura ala <I>The Days Of Our Lives</I>.
Alicia, Viviana, Lorena, and Mariangela prowl, glide and swish across the screen like spoiled felines, abundantly made-over and clad to the nines like teenage girls attired for the techno clubs. Which is to say they are perpetually dressed like fashionable whores in skintight, silk miniskirts, thong bikinis, and low cut tops, continually displaying bulging, quivering, top and bottom cleavage, throbbing, erect nipples, plumped, glossed lips, and plenty of tanned, voluptuous thigh. Add to this lots of non-nude lesbian amour, (not gratuitous; it's actually part of the plot) and the result is a steamily scandalous atmosphere which nicely compliments the salacious story. The effect is however, distinctly <I>not</I> subtle.
Which is not to say that <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is a bad movie, but it is has a Latin popular mass media signature (i.e, made for Brazilian TV) one which is definitely not what US audiences may be used to. Despite this, the film also manages (poorly) a slightly norish atmosphere, but the plot is great! The plot is well executed, better than most, but in the end though, at 87 minutes, <I>Sex Lies And Death</I> might have fared better as an entry in the hour long <I>Alfred Hitchcock Presents</I>. Nevertheless, it's worth a watch for crime thriller fans who can overlook the movie's peculiarly south of the border footprint.
Lopez and Bolaños do a reasonable job, but the most interesting actor is Carlos Serrarto, whose all too brief performance is something right out of Orson Welles's <I>A Touch Of Evil</I>. He is somebody with whom I would rather not visualize myself trying to match wits and answer awkward questions in the darkened interrogation room of a South American jail, after being caught with a dead CIA agent's passport and a boat full of marijuana. I would like to see more of Serrarto in another film, and I hope he will appear in future endeavors.
<div style="width:235px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/sex-lies-and-death-14019740"><img src="http://content6.flixster.com/photo/14/01/97/14019740_ori.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a> </div></div>
<div style="width:120px;font-size:10px;text-align:center;"></div><a href="http://www.flixster.com/videos?videoId=11146897"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6J9AqdgGO7A/0.jpg" border="0" /></a><div style="font-size:10px;width:120px;text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"><I>Sex Lies and Death</a> - trailer</div>
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
BY PAMELA DE GRAFF
Four star storyline, but two star soap opera production style.
No stars for ripping off the title of the 1989 <I>Sex Lies and Videotape</I>.
Sex Lies And Death has a great plot. It is neither campy, nor over-the-top, yet it may hold special appeal to fans of such films due its distinctly voyeuristic filmmaking style, typical of a risqué, televised Latin serial.
<B>SEX LIES AND DEATH (2011)</B> Spanish; (English Subtitles)
WRITTEN BY: Claude Primont
DIRECTED BY: Ramiro Meneses
FEATURING: Andrea Lopez, Carolina Sepulveda, Alejandra Pinzon, Juan Pablo Shuk, Martha Bolaños, Carlos Serrarto, and Juan Alfonso Baptista
GENRE: THRILLER
TAGS: heavy lesbian themes, but note that <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is not dyke cinema
<B>PLOT: </B> Two executives plot the murder of each other's spouses, but despite their best efforts, the troublesome intricacies of a four woman lesbian love triangle cause the morbid scheme to spiral sensationally out of control.
COMMENTS: When Viviana (Lopez) and Alicia (Bolaños) meet randomly, they discover that they would both enjoy life more if they could relieve their spouses from existing. Viviana's husband (Shuk) is great provider, who likes to beat and rape Viviana, then apologize profusely the following day, shower her with expensive gems, get drunk, and rape her again. Alicia's spouse Lorena(Sepulveda) inherited a fashion design company, but has taken up an torid affair on the side with her new upstart marketing executive, Mariangela (Pinzon) with whom she plans to replace Alicia as vice president of the company. Together Vivian and Alicia carefully plot to invoke the tried but tempting <I>Strangers On A Train</I> scheme whereby each murders the other's tormentor, while they establish alibis respectively.
Of course everything goes horribly, horribly wrong.
And the situation deteriorates in a credible, interesting way that doesn't insult one's intelligence. After arranging Lorena's murder, Alicia is forced to back out of the arrangement pending new developments, but it is too late. Determined and skillful, Vivianna has already embarked on her endeavor and it is too late to call her back. She undertakes her assignment in a cunning, underhanded way that ensures she will be able to coerce Alicia into fulfilling her end of the bargain. Loren's nosy, discontented domestic staff, and intrigue arising from rivalries in the four women's lesbian love triangle complicate matters, just as a shady detective makes the scene at the worst possible time. Deceit, subplots, and surprise alliances plunge Alicia, Vivianna, Loren and Mariangela into a web of <I>sex, lies and death</I>.
What sets <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> apart from many thrillers with tawdry murder plots is that the two vixens conduct themselves cleverly. This is to say that they act, rather merely react to the changing situation, and they do so with poise and intelligence. In so many films I have to quit caring about players who make truly stupid decisions in the face of adversity.
Employing characters who are dolts often signifies weak writing; it indicates that the scribe lacked imagination. <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> compelled my attention because the principles are not stupid. To the contrary, they do a great job of coping with the situation when it turns sour despite their meticulous planning, and this builds quality, rather than cheap suspense.
It must be noted however, the <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is not a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller. Rather, it plods along like an Agatha Christie murder mystery, but there is nothing wasted, and no drawn out or irrelevant love scenes. The film has an unusual feel by US or Northern Europen standards because it is shot like a Brazilian or Mexican soap opera. The production values, editing, sets, image quality etc, are adequate, but the frames and edits are right out of a Latin serial.
<I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is photographed with a distinctly voyeuristic filming style. It is done so in such a way that one holds the expectation that at any moment, the plot will come undone like much of the characters' clothing, in favor of soft-porn fornication scenes (though what is surprising is that it never does).
For instance, everyone seems to be in bed with everyone else. Literally. The phone rings; cut to a shot of a man answering it in bed. Camera pulls back and it's revealed that he's in bed <I>with</I> someone, and it's someone you wouldn't expect. This is a plot point of course, but the bed turns into a consciously sexy plot point.
There are a lot of long closeups to catch ignoble emotions such as jealousy, lust, and seething conceit. Contrast this with quick, subtle close up shots in a film such as <I>Chinatown</I> which are calculated to convey what a player is thinking or scheming, in a way that builds character development rather than playing to audience voyeurism. In <I>Sex Lies and Death</I>, there is a bit of a garish quality to the production, such as anticipation shots, featuring close-editing of things like blouses being pulled off before a plunge in the pool, to build anticipation for what lies beneath.
Really, a serious viewer is more interested in revelations of plot than revelations of tits, and so this sort of cinematic style detracts from the film's credibility. Additionally, dialogue is good, not corny, but it smacks of the sort of cattiness one would expect out of the mouths of Luke and Laura ala <I>Days Of Our Lives</I>.
Alicia, Viviana and Lorena, and Mariangela prowl, glide and swish across the screen like spoiled felines, abundantly made-over and clad to the nines like teenage girls attired for the techno clubs. Which is to say they are perpetually dressed like fashionable whores in skintight, silk miniskirts, thong bikinis, and low cut tops, continually displaying bulging, quivering, top and bottom cleavage, throbbing, erect nipples, plumped, glossed lips, and plenty of tanned, voluptuous thigh. Add to this lots of non-nude lesbian amour, (not gratuitous; it's actually part of the plot) and the result is a steamily scandalous atmosphere which nicely compliments the salacious story. The effect is however, distinctly <I>not</I> subtle.
Which is not to say that <I>Sex Lies and Death</I> is a bad movie, but it is has a Latin popular mass media signature (i.e, made for Brazilian TV) one which is definitely not what US audiences may be used to. Despite this, the film also manages (poorly) a slightly norish atmosphere, but the plot is great! The plot is well executed, better than most, but in the though in the end, at 87 minutes, it might have faired better as an entry in the hour long <I>Alfred Hitchcock Presents</I>. Nevertheless, it's worth a watch for crime thriller fans who can overlook the movie's peculiarly south of the border footprint.
Lopez and Bolaños do a reasonable job, but the most interesting actor is Carlos Serrarto, whose all to brief performance and is something right out of Orson Welles's <I>A Touch Of Evil</I>. He is somebody with whom I would rather not visualize myself trying to match wits and answer awkward questions in the darkened interrogation room of a South American jail, after being caught with a dead CIA agent's passport and a boat full of marijuana. I would like to see more of his character in another film, and I hope to see Searrato show up in future endeavors.
<div style="width:235px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/sex-lies-and-death-14019740"><img src="http://content6.flixster.com/photo/14/01/97/14019740_ori.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a> </div></div>
<div style="width:120px;font-size:10px;text-align:center;"></div><a href="http://www.flixster.com/videos?videoId=11146897"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6J9AqdgGO7A/0.jpg" border="0" /></a><div style="font-size:10px;width:120px;text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"><I>Sex Lies and Death</a> - trailer</div>
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
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